Making the best start in a new job is more important than ever before, the two key reasons are:
1. When you get a new job, you often have a 3-6 months probationary period during which you need to perform well enough to stay employed.
2. With an increasing number of interim jobs, which may only last for 6 months, being able to make a fast, effective start is not just desirable -- it is essential.
A major worry is that at precisely this time of pressure on new employees to perform quickly, few employers have retained comprehensive new hire training programmes. In parallel, reductions in numbers of existing staff mean they are so stretched with extra work they have little or no time to support and help new people.
It is clear that when you start a new job you are almost certainly going to have to take the initiative yourself to make sure you are a success in your first 90 days. The question is how you do this in a new and unfamiliar job, where you actually "don't know, what you don't know". This is sometimes described as a state of unconscious incompetence = not good!
In fact, if you have a simple plan, some common sense and a positive attitude you can dramatically raise your chances of a successful start in your new job. Here we will describe the plan and leave other issues for future articles. If you really do want to make a great start check out our online training courses which give you a complete guide.
So what is the plan and how do you use it? The plan is centred on meeting clearly defined success criteria which are defined from other people's (mainly your direct manager's) expectations of you. This may sound obvious but in many instances what really happens is that vague directions are given by managers and you have to make assumptions about what you should really do. The result is a mismatch which will lead to your frustration and your manager's dissatisfaction = not good!
Both your new manager and you, the new employee, have a joint responsibility to discuss and define precisely your success criteria for the job you have been hired to do.
The "famous 5" plan success in your first 90 days in a new job:
1. Start with the information given to you during the hiring process that describes the key objectives and tasks of your job. Compare to this to your job description and write down your understanding of the top 3 objectives you need to achieve which means you will have made a success
2. Ask your manager what she / he expects of you. Now you have the first version of your 90 day success criteria. Also define the key people you will interact with, inside the organisation and outside. Try and find out who are regarded as successful and trusted existing team members, guidance from them about your own priorities is very valuable.
3. Now you can check out what all the people you will interact with expect of you, both inside and outside (for example customers) the employer. It may be as simple as asking a few other members of your team, or quite complicated with lots of people to talk to. You need the discipline to stick to your plan to understand, and write down, what everyone expects of you, by when and why. The "why" is critical as this will give you an understanding of the reason behind the expectations
4. Now you can re-discuss with your manager about the input you have received and clarify any overlaps, conflicts and prioritise your success criteria. The result is a written list of your success criteria with clear measurement criteria which will tell you and your manager when the right result is achieved
5. Agree regular feedback reviews with your manager, no plan or priority list lasts too long as working priorities change and your success criteria may need to be updated. You also need feedback on your progress early enough to correct your actions and assure your 90 day success.
If you want to learn more about how to be successful in a new job check out http://www.lets-begin.com/ for a whole range of new online training courses focused on this important issue.